EU sees bigger competition among Nigerian states in coming years

European Union sees greater competition among Nigerian states to attract investors and create wealth. The EU ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Michel Arrion, who said this in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Monday, named Lagos, Rivers, Kaduna and Delta as some of those jostling to overtake each other.

Arrion was delivering a talk on ‘How to attract FDI to Rivers State and Nigeria’ at the quarterly business lunch organised by the Rivers Entrepreneurs and Investors Forum (REIF) made up of local and foreign business executives in Port Harcourt.

Noting that Kaduna State has emerged to give Lagos, Rivers and Delta states a fight, Arrion said Kaduna was doing much to improve its competitiveness, saying the states would have to struggle to gain advantage before thinking of competition from Vietnam, Brazil, etc.

Warning that investors anywhere look for same indices, the Ambassador said: “An international investor has choices, so Nigeria should try to make such investors to come to Nigeria. To do that, try to look at World Bank Doing Business Report and World Economic Forum (WEF) Report on Competitiveness.”

He advised the carefully selected top 50 investors thus: “See what you can do to move forward on the global doing business ratings. Think of reforms in land papers, incorporation of business, etc.”

He equally harped again on the need for Nigeria to move faster on engaging the entire as a business entity. “ECOWAS is the most achieved integration project (in Africa) and this can make Nigeria to double her market share. Growing from 170 million people to 350 million is a huge expansion. Nigeria has 70 percent of the ECOWAS GDP.

“So, its Nigeria’s duty to make ECOWAS work like Germany to the EU. We say, no Nigeria, no ECOWAS just as we say no Germany, no EU. In that case, Nigeria has to pair with Ivory Coast to move ECOWAS forward just as Germany pairs with France to move the EU forward.”

He went on, “So, Nigeria should design regional policies and drive it. Add all the other basic factors such as land, labour, security and regional cohesion to make FDIs to come. Try and address the concerns of investors and make clear your terms of engagement. We see Africa as the place to invest, not just as the place to sell. That is my duty as EU ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, to sell West Africa to Europe.”

The president of REIF, Ibifiri Bobmanuel, kick-started the lunch by making a call for diversification, saying the business lunch was a purely private sector initiative to inject life into the Rivers economy.

Saying Rivers State was a shadow of its self, the business leader and activist said Italians and other EU experts had been brought in to give tips so as to help the government look inwards.

Several resource persons made presentations, which may be forwarded to the state government as well as the government at the centre.